Slavery: Alive and well in the US
At least, that is what you would think after hearing the ENTIRE speech by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former paster, this morning. I watched Rev. Wright while feeding Theodore. I was very troubled by what I heard.
He detailed the injustices of the black people, working his way back through history. He was fairly accurate except that he failed to mention that during the trans-Atlantic slave trade it was his fellow black Africans that sold other blacks into slavery. He would've had you believe something else. He implied that white people are no different now than in the past and that reconciliation needs to continue on our part.
He misinterpreted Isaiah 61 and Luke 4: "To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound". Having you believe that this verse in Scripture, later quoted by Jesus in Luke, refers to the captivity of the black race in slavery. Christ was clearly talking about being captive to original sin.
Those were some of the highlights of the monologue. But there were a couple of things that I found amazing.
The first being that here this man was spewing forth his falsehoods to an open, public group. He had no restraints! I could care less what this man says in his church. But here he was speaking to a large group of people who cheered him on. If this would've been a man of a lighter skin tone uttering such hate speech about a certain group of people, there would be an indictment by now!
The second thing that I marveled at during his speech was how arrogantly this man put forth his ideals. He KNEW he could get away with it by the look on his face and the responses he gave during the Q & A portion of the speech. He grew bolder with each cheer from the crowd--he fed off of it! He was in a zone!
This is a dangerous man! That Obama connected himself with such a person for 20 years should make you very concerned.
My blood pressure was up and I got a lot of house cleaning done to release some tension! Floors mopped, baseboards cleaned in the long hallway, bathroom cleaned. Rhubarb cut up and ready for some pie or something else yummy tomorrow!
I guess I should thank Rev. Wright for my productive day!
He detailed the injustices of the black people, working his way back through history. He was fairly accurate except that he failed to mention that during the trans-Atlantic slave trade it was his fellow black Africans that sold other blacks into slavery. He would've had you believe something else. He implied that white people are no different now than in the past and that reconciliation needs to continue on our part.
He misinterpreted Isaiah 61 and Luke 4: "To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound". Having you believe that this verse in Scripture, later quoted by Jesus in Luke, refers to the captivity of the black race in slavery. Christ was clearly talking about being captive to original sin.
Those were some of the highlights of the monologue. But there were a couple of things that I found amazing.
The first being that here this man was spewing forth his falsehoods to an open, public group. He had no restraints! I could care less what this man says in his church. But here he was speaking to a large group of people who cheered him on. If this would've been a man of a lighter skin tone uttering such hate speech about a certain group of people, there would be an indictment by now!
The second thing that I marveled at during his speech was how arrogantly this man put forth his ideals. He KNEW he could get away with it by the look on his face and the responses he gave during the Q & A portion of the speech. He grew bolder with each cheer from the crowd--he fed off of it! He was in a zone!
This is a dangerous man! That Obama connected himself with such a person for 20 years should make you very concerned.
My blood pressure was up and I got a lot of house cleaning done to release some tension! Floors mopped, baseboards cleaned in the long hallway, bathroom cleaned. Rhubarb cut up and ready for some pie or something else yummy tomorrow!
I guess I should thank Rev. Wright for my productive day!
I'm assuming you are serious about everything you wrote, instead of some form of ironic.
Your post gave much food for thought.....so I did some thinking. Rev. Wright obviously is a motivational speaker, besides being a pastor. Maybe that's the problem.....its not a mix we white Lutherans are accustomed to.
I thought about the parishioners at my own church......white, landowners, homeowners, well-fed, well-clothed....sinners, of course, but living in peaceful, comfortable circumstances.
Then I thought about the area where Rev. Wright's church is located, a tough neighborhood in the south side of Chicago, amidst streets full of crime, poverty, drugs, etc.
We know a pastor's job should involve preaching the Word and distributing the Sacraments. After he says "Peace be with you", then think about the two contrasting worlds the parishioners walk out into.
Do you think that maybe in a situation such as Rev. Wright's, he also felt the need to try to motivate people to aim higher in other aspects of their lives, to find a way to rise above the misery they had so long lived in?
I saw some of Bill Moyer's interview of Rev. Wright. One thing Rev. Wright has done over the years is provide black mentors for the youth in his neighborhood, so these young people can see that blacks can actually become doctors, lawyers, etc. He said, "How will these kids ever aspire to that level if they never see that it is possible?" I was impressed with the point he was trying to make there.
Obviously, Rev. Wright has gone beyond what we would normally consider a pastor's vocation to include. Do you think if his title were YMCA counselor that he would be in the news now? Is it because he holds the title of pastor, and then some of what he has done in his parish seems possibly unpastor-like? Is that why he made the news?
Rev. Wright in some way motivated you to get your chores done......did he have a hand in motivating Barack Obama to aspire to high political office? Is that kind of motivation dangerous? Does Rev. Wright motivate people to commit crimes?
Black people have had to play catch up in many aspects of life, and perhaps prodding from people like Rev. Wright is sometimes what it takes to help them move forward.
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I don't disagree that Rev. Wright motivates people. You are right that he motivated me!
But the question is what does he motivate people to be? If you only watched the Bill Moyer's interview you did not get a good picture of who and what he does. True, he does a lot of good things in the community. For example, he aids people in the community by providing child care to unmarried black women. Does he motivate these women to get ahead in life? Does he urge them to get a better education, to get a job, etc., that would actually propel them forward? If he has been providing these services and "motivating" these individuals for 30+ years, don't you think that you would see an improvement in their situation? What about holding the black men who fathered these children accountable for providing for their families? Has that been discussed?Current statistics indicate that 70% of black children are born out of wedlock! That is an astounding and sad number!
Unfortunately, this issue and many others cross all racial lines. It is not unique to black people.
I know what it is like to stand in a Medicaid line...I've been there. It is depressing. You spend your entire day waiting. Waiting for what? A hand-out from the gonvernment? I didn't want that for myself or my daughter but there are many people who think that they have a right to it. Let me be clear--I'm not just talking about one racial group when I say this! This thinking is an epidemic that has riddled our country.
Let me switch gears for a bit. Let's look at what simply is... Rev. Wright is a pastor. A pastor holds the office of the keys and exercises them with humility, fairness, objectivity, and with great care. They are accountable to God for their actions and what they say. They are commanded to do this and to not teach falsely for they will be held at a higher standard on judgement day because of this call. Rev. Wright's speech at the National Press Club was no different than what you would here at his church. It only confirmed the "sound bytes" the media has played. If that is the case, if this is what he preaches, then he is without a doubt, a false prophet. He should be avoided.
Why, suddenly, is Barack Obama distancing himself from Rev. Wright? Because his staffers have polled what people thought about Rev. Wright's speech at the NAACP convention and the National Press Club this past weekend and it isn't good!
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It's funny, I only guessed that Barack Obama's campaign staff polled people over the weekend regarding Rev. Wright's speeches. Ya know what? That is exactly what happened!
It would not look good for his public image to be further linked with Rev. Wright so now Obama denounces him in order to keep his presidential campaign moving forward. Obama is a true politician.
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Good comments.
What I thought of was this man calls himself a pastor and I think he is far from it. He should preach about our sinfull nature and of Christ crucified, not this hate speech. One point I want to talk about is his accusation that the government infected black men with aids virus. Correct me if I am wrong but didn't aids start in the white male homosexual community?
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Gary, I think you accurately point to what a pastor should be to us. It is not to enumerate the social injustices that any one race or culture has experienced.
Christ, who was a Palestinian Jew, came to save us from our sins. Christ's message is timeless and applies to us all the exact same way, regardless of race. It should be preached in that same manner.
To suggest from the pulpit of a church that a disease has been "planted" in a particular group is just wrong and a downright lie. Period! (I thought pastors were to speak the truth...hmmmm.)
Contrary to what is taught in the health classes at school HIV/AIDS continues to primarily affect the male homosexual community with IV drug users being the next largest group of people. But the various organizations hide these stats, especially with regards to the homosexual population. Why is that? Depending on what source you look at, they really bring out the statistics on how many heterosexuals are now infected with HIV/AIDS. It's quite interesting.
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